Juneteenth celebrations happening across Central Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. - Central Florida is celebrating Juneteenth on Saturday with many events planned.
In the Hannibal Square neighborhood in Winter Park, a festival is planned featuring live music, food and speakers. A breakfast of fish and grits was served early Saturday morning.
"Juneteenth is part of the celebrations that we as black people do to commemorate our heritage but also help the younger people in our communities develop the skills they need to combat racism," said Lauren Austin, who attended the event.
The event featured live music, lots of great food - and history.
RELATED: Black Friday scavenger hunt hopes to uncover black-owned businesses
Fairolyn Livingston is the Hannibal Square Heritage Center's chief historian, and a Winter Park native.
"We need to be aware of and celebrate our history. We should not be ashamed of our history," she said.
The festival is from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and everyone is invited.
Juneteenth, is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or Jubilee Day. It marks the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1866. The date commemorates when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to tell the black population there that the Civil War was over and they were now free. "We always celebrate Juneteenth because until everybody knows, we were not emancipated, if you will," Livingston said.
Winter Park's black leaders say it's great that the holiday is finally getting the recognition it deserves, but they also want to see their community better represented in the city.
"I would like to see them move to single-member districts," said Barbara Chandler, manager of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center, "we all know single-member districts allow for a Hannibal Square representative, or a Hannibal Square to run on the issues that plague this community."
A celebration is also being held at the Bronze Kingdom on International Drive in Orlando from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Kool from Kool & the Gang will be signing autographs from 4-7 and Chuma Okeke of Orlando Magic will take photos with visitors. The event is free.
RELATED: Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday
President Biden on Thursday signed the bill making Juneteenth, a day celebrating the freeing of Black slaves after the Civil War, into a national holiday.
Biden said the day would now be a "day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll slavery took on the country," as he signed the bill surrounded by members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Vice President Harris.